Robert Yellin is one of the world’s preeminent experts of Japanese pottery. After decades in Japan, first in Numazu and now in Kyoto, Yellin turned his obsessive passion for ceramics into a business that draws museum directors, designers, and collectors to his pristine gallery in the foothills of Kyoto.

Yellin’s gallery and home, in a 100-year-old former teahouse and martial arts dojo, overlooks his garden, a miniature sculptural landscape filled with broken pots, shards, and remnants of countless firings. Chick Corea, the legendary Jazz pianist, once lived in the house, and from the 1970s to ’90s it belonged to a famous foreign tea master, who welcomed celebrity guests including David Bowie.

Yellin recently sat down with Penta over tea (naturally) to discuss a few of his favorite things in Kyoto and beyond.

My favorite neighborhood in the world is… right here [Kyoto’s Ginkakuji], without a doubt, one of the greatest districts in the world... A five-minute walk from here you’re in the mountains, but you also have the Philosopher’s Path, which is a nice, quaint stroll, and you have the Silver Pavilion. And my favorite temple in all of Japan, Honen-in, is another 10-minute walk from here.

Philosopher's Path in Kyoto.
Getty Images/iStockphoto

One thing in my kitchen I can’t live without is… my water cup—I hold this piece of pottery more than any other piece in my collection. It’s a very large piece made in Tamba, one of the ancient potting centers of Japan. Not made by anybody famous, it truly epitomizes the unknown craftsman. It’s got these lovely purple tones and a very earthy feel. Every morning, I wake up and I cut a lemon in half and fill it with lukewarm water and drink some lemon water... I can’t think of living without it. It greets me in the morning—“Welcome to another day.”

If I were to buy a piece of art… I like art that is infused with myths, nature, metaphors—maybe [artist Mark] Chagall, because it dives into your consciousness and history and mythology. But more than a painting, I like something I can hold. So maybe a Momoyama period [late 1600s] Bizen Chawan [tea bowl]; there are very few that even exist.

The best book you’ve read in the past year is… [a book of poems by the late] Beatnik counterculture poet named Sakaki Nanao—he actually was very good friends with Allen Ginsberg, Kerouac, and Gary Snyder. When those guys came to Japan, they would always hang out. And I just was reading these poems because there was an event in Kyoto celebrating his life and his passing.

A passion of mine that few people know about is… well, the one passion everyone knows about is just going out and [playing] on a tennis court. I find any court is like a cathedral to me.... My life is very simple: I’m either at the gallery, with clients at an artist’s home, or I’m playing tennis.

A trip that I’ve taken that I would love to do again… hanging out in San Diego by the bay, or someplace where you’re next to the ocean. A nice resort or a bungalow… with a tennis court.

The next destination on my travel itinerary is… Arlington National Cemetery. My dad will be entombed there on January 15th. He was a World War II fighter pilot flying from Iwo Jima over Japan, so the irony of me being here has not been lost. And the first time he saw Japan was from the cockpit of a P51. But he came to a peaceful place with all of that and came to Japan many times, and was actually sitting in the chairs we are sitting in now, in the same spot, drinking tea like we are.

Japan Ginkaku-ji, the "Temple of the Silver Pavilion."
Getty Images

The thing that gets me up in the morning is… the possibilities of the day. My life is not a routine. Every day is special and I am in constant awe. It’s like Einstein said, “Either nothing is a miracle or everything is a miracle.” I get to wake up another day and see the sun come through the windows here out into the garden. “What am I going to do? Who’s going to come by?” You know, the mystery of the day is what gets me up.

If I could have a drink with anybody, anywhere… I’d want to share a cup of sake with the eccentric Zen monk Ikkyu. I want to find the insight into his mind as to how he found enlightenment upon hearing a crow cawing on Lake Biwa [outside of Kyoto, in Shiga]. What brought to his mind that he could see beyond the illusion of this existence.

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com.